Danville sets blood drive recordDANVILLE — The commitment of one high school to donate blood could save more than 100 lives across the state. Danville High School recently set a new record for blood donations during its semiannual blood drive, which will benefit the Arkansas Blood Institute (ABI). More than 40 students, faculty and staff gave 39 units of blood, which can help as many as 117 patients at three area hospitals. Although donors had to be at least 16 years old, st...

Senior Activity Center member to celebrate 100th birthdayThe Pope County Senior Wellness and Activity Center will celebrate the 100th birthday of Willard “Scrappy” Smith next month. The public is invited to attend Smith's birthday party from 2-6 p.m. on April 11 at the center. Smith was born on April 8, 1915, in Clinton to Jess T and Ora Arnold Smith. His father was a farmer, and his mother died in 1922. Smith accompanied his father at the family farm throughout school. Smith graduated in 1934 and p...

City filling sidewalk gapsSidewalks don’t last forever. If not taken care of on a regular basis, they can chip and have broken sand and dirt gaps replace the smooth concrete where many feet once walked, jogged or ran. The Russellville City Council recently approved $142,387 to construct and improve sidewalks on the west side of North Arkansas Avenue from Parkway Drive to O Street, or the State Highway 7 and 124 intersection. It’s part of an in-house plan to renovate th...

Morrilton house fire kills toddlerMORRILTON — Police in Morrilton say the cause of a fire that killed a 4-year-old boy has not yet been determined. Police Chief Sonny Stover told reporters that the fire was reported early Sunday morning and that the child’s grandfather and three other children were able to escape the burning home. Stover says the grandfather tried, but was unable to re-enter the home and rescue the 4-year-old. The child’s name had not been released on Tuesday.

Pottsville OKs grocery store workPOTTSVILLE — The Pottsville City Council gave the Pope County Historic Foundation the OK to continue renovation and preservation of downtown historic Pottsville during its meeting Monday at City Hall. Pam Scarber, president of the Pope County Historic Foundation, presented ideas to the City Council, one of which concerned the Pottsville Grocery building on Ash Street. “If you've noticed, we just finished a $45,000 project on [Potts Inn],” Scar...

News Briefs (March 25, 2015)Martin Chapel Assembly of God Egg Hunt The Martin Chapel Assembly of God will host an Easter Egg Hunt from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday. The event will feature an egg hunt, door prizes, a petting zoo, face painting and a lunch with hot dogs and all of the trimmings. The Easter Bunny will also be on hand for kids to meet and have pictures taken. The church is located at 6635 State Highway 333 North of London. In the event of inclement weather,...

Dover reviews building processDOVER — Superintendent Jerry Owens updated the Dover Board of Education on impending middle school construction during Thursday's regular meeting. Owens reported he participated in numerous meetings recently with the project architects and engineers, and the final specifics and blueprints should be complete within three months. He said some ground and road work would begin during the summer break, and care would be taken not to interfere with ...

Symphony Guild support of Arkansas Symphony Orchestra spans more than 25 yearsThe Russellville Symphony Guild celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2014 and is one of three guilds servicing the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra (ASO), who will perform in the Arknasas River Valley on April 18. With the purpose of raising money for the ASO, the guild has grown to host the orchestra multiple times each year and provide scholarships to Arkansas River Valley musicians. Public outreach of the guild reaches elementary students when the...

Pope County Community Foundation awards $21,000The Pope County Community Foundation awarded $21,000 in Giving Tree Grants to local nonprofit organizations Thursday at The Depot in downtown Russellville. “This year there were so many needs they far exceeded our financial resources,” Executive Director Madelyn Ginsberg said. “The grants committee had the daunting task of deciding where out money would stretch the farthest. We are proud of our grant recipients.” Grant recipients included: * A...

Schools to receive grades based on performance standardsParents of children who attend schools in the Arkansas River Valley can expect a report card to reach their mailboxes soon. However, the report card will evaluate the school, not the student. Chris Barnes, director of elementary instruction for the Russellville School District (RSD), explained the implications of the School Performance Report Card (SPRC) and the performance rating system. Effective in 2014, schools are rated using an A-F ratin...

Supreme Court asked to reinstate lawsuit in Dirksmeyer caseLITTLE ROCK — A man acquitted of killing his girlfriend in Russellville is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse the dismissal of his lawsuit against local police. Kevin Jones contends police conspired to implicate him in the 2005 stabbing and beating death of beauty queen Nona Dirksmeyer. A jury in 2007 acquitted Jones of murder in the case. Another man was later charged with murder — but that charge was dismissed after two trials ended wi...

Stepping down doesn't mean slowing down for Chief Rodney L. PfeiferDOVER — Rodney L. Pfeifer loved his job with a fire department outside Oklahoma City more than 25 years ago. He also kept busy as an emergency medical technician (EMT) and restored cars in his body shop. But when he and a partner couldn’t subdue a 13-year-old boy high on drugs in a school classroom, he told his wife Suzie it was time to move on. They both believe they were led to Dover not just because Pfeifer’s mother and father lived here, b...

Clarksville thespian, FFA organizations excelCLARKSVILLE — The Clarksville Board of Education recognized the success of its students in extracurricular activities during its recent board meeting at the high school media center. Assistant Superintendent Steven Wyatt recognized the high school drama department for its performance at the Arkansas State Thespian Festival, where the group was selected as the Critics' Choice. The students will advance to the national competition in Lincoln, Ne...

Bond hearings (March 23, 2015)The following individuals appeared during felony bond hearings Monday at the Pope County Detention Center. Their names, ages, anticipated charges and bond amounts are listed. If charged, they will appear May 4 in Pope County Circuit Court. * Ashley Davis, 46, forgery, obstruction of governmental operations — $25,000. In early March, Davis cashed a $175 check at a local bank after stealing a checkbook out of a truck he borrowed, according to a ...

News Briefs (March 24, 2015)Goates Cemetery Association to meet The Goates Cemetery Association annual meeting will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at Price Grove Assembly of God Church. Genealogy group to meet at library The Pope County Library Genealogy Department will meet from 5:30-6:30 p.m. Thursday in the Katie Murdoch Genealogy and History Room located in the Russellville Public Library. For more information, call Matt Friend at (479) 968-4368 or email at mfriend@pope...

Parts of Russellville, Arkansas Tech out of powerMore than 300 residents in Russellville have been knocked out of power Monday afternoon after a dump truck hit a number of lines, according to dispatchers at the Russellville Police Department. A dump truck operating in road construction near the 81 mile marker on Interstate 40 hit a power line, causing power to shut off around 3:40 p.m., according to Entergy. Areas affected include roughly the northern half of the Arkansas Tech campus includi...

Search and Rescue Wars canceledBecause of a lack of pre-registration, the inaugural Search and Rescue Wars has been canceled, the Yell County Office of Emergency Management (OEM) recently announced. The event was scheduled for Saturday at the Yell County Fairgrounds in Danville. It was designed to challenge search and rescue teams through five events to test their skills in a competitive environment. The Yell County OEM will look into rescheduling the event later in the yea...

Preventing theftThe Russellville Police Department (RPD) would like to urge the community to take keys out of unoccupied vehicles. Multiple vehicle thefts have been reported this month, and removing keys is a way to prevent the theft from occurring, Drew Latch, RPD Public Information Officer said.

Two students qualify for AutoSkills competitionTwo local high school students qualified to participate in the state Ford/American Automobile Association (AAA) Student AutoSkills competition, scheduled for May 1 in Little Rock. And with the help of Ford and Cogswell Motors, they already have a leg up on the competition. Samuel Shaddon of Atkins High School and Austin Brock of Hector High School will have the chance to work on their auto repair skills on a sparkling new 2015 Ford Fiesta in t...

ATU board votes to buy North El Paso propertyArkansas Tech University agreed to add to its property inventory along North El Paso Avenue during Thursday’s regular meeting of its Board of Trustees at the Ross Pendergraft Library and Technology Center. Trustees approved to purchase the property at 715 North El Paso Ave. for $240,000. The property includes one lot and a building that contains 3,536 square feet. Board members also voted to purchase an adjacent vacant lot for $45,000. As of s...